The Meditation of Star Feather

What you see before you is the culmination of an intense creative self analysis. Since October of this past year I’ve been focused on refining my artistic style. For a long while I've felt that my artistic style was all over the place and needed to be simplified. My style up until now, although beautifully unpredictable, needed to be refined in a way to bring out the best of what I naturally do. I had to trim away unnecessary steps that just prolonged the process. The bottom line is that I wanted to become more efficient without sacrificing my artistic integrity. The first step was to look at all of my work objectively and study it. This piece is the first large scale drawing using my new practice. My new mode involves isolating the strongest shapes of the pre sketch, using an earth tone palette(limiting my color), and using a flat color background(deep space). In my personal research the trend I naturally follow involves using a figurative element, combined with a metaphysical & indigenous theme. I’ve always been fascinated with anything related to the cosmos and in many ways I see it as an ancestor. Our body is literally made of star dust. For me, incorporating stars and space creates a more accurate portrayal of the figure. It is a man among his star relatives and having a cosmic background helps to strengthen the shape,gesture and meaning of the figure and the deer. As for the meaning of the piece, I suppose it’s a statement about realizing our personal power. Deep in the American psyche there’s a knowing that indigenous people carry great wisdom. That wisdom is often so simple that it’s dismissed without any further introspection. A good example of this is, “As above, So below”. This simple statement bridges the macrocosm and the microcosm of life, and it is what I’m actively exploring in my life and work. I reference the deer in my art because it is a sort of totem. It relates to my spiritual heritage and masculinity. In my faith it’s also a sign of great love and healing. I truly believe that by realizing our personal power we also add to the forward expansion of life and our planet. As we progress on a deep level, so to does the whole: “As above, So below”.